The Southern African skies are home to the familiar zodiacal constellations, as well as a number of other more southern constellations unfamiliar to northern hemisphere sky watchers. Among these are some with obviously modern names such as Horologium (the clock), and the only constellation to be named after a mountain, Mensa (table).

The Southern Cross is the most recognisable of these. Visible throughout the year as it circles the south celestial pole, it has been used by generations of boy scouts as a direction finder. The two pointer stars in nearby Centaurus and the two brightest stars of the cross are known in many parts of South Africa as the Giraffes, because they appear to skim above the trees.

Dark nights away from the city are a spectacular sight, especially in winter when the central parts of our Milky Way galaxy stretch across the sky. In dark skies, our two neighbouring galaxies - the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds - are also easily seen as diffuse fuzzy patches.

MalaMala Game Reserve, Private Bag X284, Hillcrest, Kwazulu Natal, 3650, South Africa.